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# Food, EPA, and Water - EWG newsletter
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/food_epa_and_water_0406111154/
- Published: 2011-04-06T12:53:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:03:55.000Z
- Description: An EWG newsletter rounding up its 2011 work: a TEDxManhattan talk on turning the farm bill into a food bill, pressure on Congress not to cut nutrition programs while leaving agribusiness subsidies intact, and a finding that 23 members of Congress or their relatives collect farm subsidies.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Politics, #vivvo-import

Dear Readers,

Whether it's food, water or consumer products, EWG has been running at full speed in 2011\. **With so much happening, we wanted to make sure you're up-to-date on the latest EWG news.**

**Food Policy**  
In February, I addressed a TEDxManhattan conference whose theme was *Changing the Way We Eat.* My presentation, *Turning the farm bill into the food bill*, [**can now be viewed online**](http://action.ewg.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=Dp66NwYzm5A4oAKmbrcC%2FFOwHM0Ao1YL&ref=foodconsumer.org) \-- I hope you'll check-out what a reporter for *TIME* called his "favorite talk of the day."

The nation's farm and food policies are key aspects of Congress' ongoing budget negotiations. We've been keeping a close eye on the proceedings. Politicians have tried to slash essential, lifeline nutrition programs for the poorest Americans while leaving untouched farm subsidies to big agribusiness. [**Check out my blog that lays out what Congress needs to do to establish a fair, practical food system.**](http://action.ewg.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=D%2FYojXcUr%2F7%2FfG9k7K%2BXBlOwHM0Ao1YL&ref=foodconsumer.org)

[**Click here to tell your representative you want a food system that helps fix the country's dietary and environmental shortfalls.**](http://action.ewg.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=JfIZv8e3FEB6vVRnpUE%2BQD9V9cTvMe7y&ref=foodconsumer.org)

New analysis from [**EWG's Farm Subsidy Database**](http://action.ewg.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=HAh%2BEjQ93gbhSvIpf%2B59vy5zj%2B5QdnAK&ref=foodconsumer.org) has found that 23 members of Congress or their family members collect taxpayer-funded farm subsidies. The bulk of these payments go to a handful of the largest and wealthiest land owners and industrial growers of commodity crops like corn and cotton. Knowing just who on Capitol Hill is getting these payments helps put into context Congress' decisions to spare those subsidy programs from the budget ax -- even as some lawmakers try to hack away funding for food assistance during the worst economy in 80 years. I talked about the farm subsidies issue on ABC's *Good Morning America.* [**Click here to watch the segment.**](http://action.ewg.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=7UM1d8WbN0dyjxlR19p1wj9V9cTvMe7y&ref=foodconsumer.org)

Americans aren't the only ones getting hurt. Because of recent spikes in global food prices, people throughout the world are on the verge of an international food crisis. To draw attention to this growing problem, EWG partnered with ActionAid to create an [**interactive world map highlighting countries most at risk of a crippling food crisis.**](http://action.ewg.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=8m71inH%2F0sWDp2OrzTWLClOwHM0Ao1YL&ref=foodconsumer.org)

**EWG is working hard to make the next farm bill a healthy food bill** \-- to direct more money to healthy school meals, organic and local farmers and programs that protect water and soil.

**Water**  
In late 2010, EWG published a [**national investigation of the suspected carcinogen chromium-6**](http://action.ewg.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=qxYK%2FuvLbgU9T43uvmc70T9V9cTvMe7y&ref=foodconsumer.org) \-- also known as hexavalent chromium -- in the drinking water of 31 of 35 cities. Within days, the US Environmental Protection Agency responded with a new plan to monitor local drinking supplies for this contaminant.

Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) took up the cause by introducing Senate Bill 79, the Protecting Pregnant Women and Children From Hexavalent Chromium Act of 2011\. [**Click here to urge your senator to co-sponsor this important bill today.**](http://action.ewg.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=PfY%2FZwnWTZgKYynPh93oXT9V9cTvMe7y&ref=foodconsumer.org)

I testified about chromium-6 contamination in America's drinking water before Congress and received one of the greatest compliments about EWG's work. **"Keep on doing what you're doing," Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer told me.**

We had another victory in early February when the EPA announced it would set a federal drinking water standard for perchlorate, a thyroid toxin with high risks for infants and pregnant women! EWG has led the fight to get this rocket fuel component out of drinking water for years. Action is long overdue.

After six years, EWG claimed a victory on the problem of excessive fluoride in tap water when the federal government acknowledged that some children are overexposed to this chemical and can suffer tooth damage. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed a sharp reduction in maximum amounts of fluoride utilities can add to water supplies.

**BPA**  
With new studies and wacky quotes, the notorious plastics chemical **bisphenol A has been in the limelight once again -- and in the cross hairs of state legislatures.**

Maryland has banned BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups, and its legislators are not stopping there. They have introduced a bill that would ban this dangerous endocrine disruptor from containers used for children -- formula and baby food containers are prime examples. EWG's Alex Rindler testified in Annapolis in support of this legislation.

Oregon's state legislature is taking up the issue. EWG online organizer Lisa Frack testified in favor of a bill to prohibit BPA in baby bottles, sippy cups and other infant products.

In Maine, too, a BPA ban is moving forward. During a now-infamous interview, Gov. Paul LePage said, "The only thing that I've heard is if you take a plastic bottle and put it in the microwave and you heat it up, it gives off a chemical similar to estrogen. **So the worst case is some women may have little beards.**" He was widely ridiculed. When the ban faced its first legislative hurdle -- a committee vote -- the governor's office did an about-face and did not oppose the ban. Thousands of you helped the cause by sending the real science about BPA to the governor. Thank you. We will deliver a long list of petition signers soon, but it's not too late. [**Sign our reality check to Gov. LePage to let him know the real science on BPA.**](http://action.ewg.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=rbm5mCERVSt7K8rD4hcprD9V9cTvMe7y&ref=foodconsumer.org)

**Natural gas "fracking"**  
In February, Oscar nominees Mark Ruffalo (*The Kids Are All Right*) and director Josh Fox (*Gasland*) visited Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to close oil and gas industry loopholes and exemptions that free natural gas drillers to use hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") to unlock underground deposits with toxics-laced water -- with almost no federal regulation. [**Later, they hosted a special screening of*Gasland***](http://action.ewg.org/salsa/track.jsp?v=2&c=ZqK4GxLMVOuo%2FNu7LIsBJT9V9cTvMe7y&ref=foodconsumer.org) with representatives from EWG, Natural Resources Defense Council and Earthjustice.

**The federal Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act has been introduced** by Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Bob Casey (D- Penn.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). The bill would require oil and gas drillers to obtain a permit under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act before they conduct hydraulic fracturing.

EWG tackles a variety of problems every day. So far this year, we've been making great strides. **We couldn't do it without your support. Thank you.**

Thanks for helping us get this year off to an incredibly productive start,

Ken Cook  
President, Environmental Working Group